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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
UTEP Softball Set to Open 2020 Campaign Friday

UTEP Softball Set to Open 2020 Campaign Friday

- By Anna Claire Thomas

UTEP GAME NOTES

EL PASO, TEXAS – After being hired as the third head coach in program history on Dec. 11, T.J. Hubbard and the UTEP Softball team are set to open the 2020 season this weekend at the NM State Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces.
 
The Miners will be tested early on this season, beginning with a pair of contests against Arkansas and Nebraska on Friday morning. UTEP will face off against the Razorbacks with a 9:30 a.m. MT first pitch before taking on the Cornhuskers immediately after the first game at 11:30 a.m. MT.
 
Saturday's slate will be a rematch of the first day with UTEP facing Nebraska at 2 p.m. MT, while the Miners will turn around on Sunday to play Bradley (11:30 a.m.) and the host NM State Aggies (2 p.m.) to conclude the weekend.
 
UTEP enters the season with 10 returners, including a pair of 2019 standouts in Kasey Flores (.352) and Pate Cathey (.324), while the Miners have nine newcomers on the roster, seven of which are true freshmen.
 
There will be plenty of new faces in the circle for the Miners this season with the pitching staff losing 242.2 innings pitched in 2019. Allie Johnson, Bryana Munoz, Zaylie Calderon, Ilena Santos and Isabella Kelly will be relied on heavily to keep opposing hitters contained this season.
 
 
MINER NOTABLES
 
  • UTEP softball is entering a new era with head coach T.J. Hubbard being hired in December. He previously held stops at UL-Lafayette, North Texas, Kansas and most recently Utah Valley. During his coaching career, he has amassed more than 200 victories in 10 seasons as a head coach.
 
  • Sophomore Kasey Flores has not shrunk in games against I-10 rival NM State. In three games against the Aggies last season, Flores hit .778 with seven base knocks, three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, 16 total bases and a 1.778 slugging percentage. NM State was only able to get the freshman out twice in nine at-bats last season.
 
  • Flores kicked off last year's freshman campaign with a start not many have ever seen. The El Paso native hit two homers with seven RBIs to lead UTEP past Creighton, 13-4. She was named C-USA Player of the Week and was honored as an NFCA Top Performer for her performance in her inaugural weekend.
 
  • The UTEP infield will have some pedigree to it this season when the Miners open the campaign in Las Cruces. Kasey Flores (3B), Pate Cathey (SS) and Ariana Valles (2B) all were named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team during their rookie campaigns. Bryanna Molina will anchor the defense as the lone senior on the diamond at first base.
 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
 
All Troy Cox Classic games are set to stream live on FLOSOFTBALL (subscribers only). Live stats for every game this weekend will be available through www.StatBroadcast.com.
 
For complete coverage of UTEP Softball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepsoftball (Instagram) and @UTEPSoftball (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
 
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